Andre Roberson Leaves a less than expected tip in ATX

Most people have jobs that don't pay commissions or bonuses. Even in jobs that pay it, usually you can't expect it consistently.

If server tips are "bonuses", then I should have every right not to pay it and no one should be able to complain. In my own line of work, I get "bonuses" only occasionally, every few years and the amount is not fixed. If my boss can refuse to pay it, then I should be able to not pay it as well without complaint.

I anticipate you will say that servers in the US, unlike my office job, make little salary and most of it comes from tips so its de-facto mandatory. Well in that case, it isn't a bonus at all. It is a service charge. Then just put into the final bill, either priced into each item and/or as an included mandatory tip!

If it is a "bonus" I have the full right to not pay it. If it really isn't, then it should just be included in the final bill with no extra payments. Do you pay doctors, repairmen, cashiers "bonuses" too? Why not Amazon workers who sort and package your stuff? Where does it begin and end? Does everyone deserve "bonuses" and if not how to decide who does and doesn't "deserve" it?

 

Great post.

 

Is that three couples and all the women got a light beer out of peer pressure. Or is that two couples, with one alcoholic sucking done three beers while everyone else had one drink.

 

lmfaoooooo nice catch. I'm the alcoholic that had 3 beers.

 

Damn, you got to tip for everything bro!


"Shouldn't have had to tip you it was just a bottle at a bar," Roberson fired back on Twitter. "There was no service ... now I can see if it was a club! You Reaching bro."

According to TMZ, Roberson and 12 of his friends visited the Chupacabra Cantina on Wednesday.

 

Perhaps he forgot he wasn't still in OKC?......

 

At first I was like damn that's a booty tip but then if all the guy did was bring him a damn bottle then wtf is the problem? I was a bartender for a while and at the bar I worked at I did not get tipped for bottle service. Just iced it down and handed it to the waitress. 13 dollars is a weird amount though lol, like how did he come to the conclusion of 13 dollars? Either way the employee is a chode for putting him on blast. Now if someone tipped me 13 on a 500 dollar tab is be pissed but it happens. as long as you made your money that night then get over it

 

Except including it in the bill locks the rate in at 20%, which removes all incentive for the server to go above and beyond the norm. As it stands, in the US, if you are an excellent server, you have the ability to make more - something that is not incentivized at all in Europe.

The system does suck to an extent, in that it puts the quality of service in the hands of the customer, instead of the business owner working to ensure he or she has the best people, best training, etc. But the advantage is also that the individual has the potential to supplement their income if they choose to try to excel at their jobs without relying on raises or the boss subjectively evaluative them.

 

Maybe. But does a waiter who serves a $1000 bottle versus a waiter at the same restaurant serving a $100 bottle deserve a 10x more tip? Or change the hypo to to $500 and $50 respectively.

 

Fake News

 

I once left a penny back when I was in College.

It was horrid service though.

 

In that case, it's not so much a matter of deserve, but luck. Like a workplace giveaway at an office job. And I've never worked in a service job, but I'm under the impression that they spread the wealth at least a little bit in that situation.

I don't have a problem with that at all. If the service truly sucks, tip zero to whatever you want. If that was Robersons excuse, I would've been fine with it.

 

This is what happens when you don't raise min wage for decades.

Yes, people expect it, because they are hired on the basis of expecting it.

 

Except tipping never really works that way.

There are people who just always skimp on tips regardless of service. Then there are those who just always tip 20%. So the correlation is lacking. A lot of times, it's just luck. If you serve el cheapo well, he could still stiff you. Then a rich guy comes along and wants to show his date how generous he is, so he tips 100% for ordinary service.

The thing also is that for the vast majority of situations, it isn't good service vs great service, it's poor service vs good service. So it becomes tipping for people for just doing their jobs vs people that should be fired. And you could incentize that by just complaining to the owner.

 

I don't understand why the tip amount has to be based on the cost of the order. An expensive bottle is no harder to bring over than a cheap one. Same thing goes for food. Maybe it should be based on number of items ordered or something. That seems like a more fair system. Then again in east Asia servers are completely insulted when you even attempt to tip them lol

 

I don't understand why the tip amount has to be based on the cost of the order. An expensive bottle is no harder to bring over than a cheap one. Same thing goes for food. Maybe it should be based on number of items ordered or something. That seems like a more fair system. Then again in east Asia servers are completely insulted when you even attempt to tip them lol

 

I agree with everyone who's argued for tipping and against tipping a certain amount just based on the price of the bill. I've also worked in the service industry for 7 years starting at a mom and pop shop and ending at a middle class sushi chain. You get to see both sides of the world there. I'm not saying people who are rich tend to tip more or that people who aren't rich tip less.

JVG used to frequently come through the place I worked in the Kirby/Rice village area when he was in town, his humor was dry per usual and he was a good tipper. No one I worked with expected him to tip 100% of the bill, we all just hope to strive for 15%.

JB Bickerstaff, when he was the assistant head coach under McHale, came in one night and had reserved the room upstairs for his party. Typically at the place I used to work at there's a gratuity of 18% with parties over 6 guests. He ended up paying and "double gratted" on the top and the server made well over 45% of the tab.

In those two instances it was nice to have people that were well known tip that much, was it expected? I would say if you expect things from strangers you're more than likely going to be left disappointed.

I've also served Casey Keenum without recognizing him until he paid the bill, he asked for recommendations and enjoyed what I helped them order. I ended up getting 15% from the bill. Do I care that he makes more than me? Not a chance, I understand that people who are rich don't need to share the wealth, they have the choice to do so or not.

People who tend to complain about tipping have never worked in the service industry in the US, it's great to have perspective and complain about something you think you know but until you've been in it you really don't get a good idea of what goes on. Andre was entitled to leave whatever he wanted as a tip.

I honestly don't care if you are the president of the US, if you're a customer (or human being) I'll treat you with respect and help you with what you need but once you cross the line and become disrespectful and rude don't expect people to always take the higher road.

 

Tip out for the places you work at, for everything that someone orders most restaurants try to get a certain % of it as a fee for their employees working there. It's funny when you file for taxes as a server the IRS expects you to make at least 15% from your total claimed sales in a day, that's how we get taxed. Imagine a food place that only has cashiers, you'll probably have a grumpy cashier who makes hourly wages who may or may not help you BUT you don't have to tip. Easy enough right?

 

Tipping is really more of a commission than a fixed fee per service. It really just depends though on the specific situation.

If you have a large party that is very demanding, the bill could be large but the tip also would correspond to a lot of service. OTOH, if your service needs are very light and you are just ordering very few but mega-expensive items, then it becomes almost purely a commission based system.

On average though, I would say it is probably 2/3 commission, 1/3 service fee rather than one extreme or the other.

The thing is that if you had a fixed fee for service type deal, you might end up where cheap meals have a service charge that is effectively 100% to make up for just 10% on expensive meals, going with your it's just as much work to bring out a $50 entree vs a $5 entree type reasoning.

So in that sense a fixed fee would be bad for moderate income customers and drive them away. If you think of tips as a service tax, it becomes very regressive in a fixed fee tip system rather than based on meal cost.